Survival of the Fittest
by Kama Kounsolour
Summary: Zack and Cody are the victims of the zombie uprising, after Land of the Dead, and are doing whatever it takes to survive. What will happen when it is up to them to save the living in Boston. M for sweaing and violence.
1. Surviving

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing. They both look around at the survivors. Esteban, Arwin, Maddie, London, and about 10 others were the only other survivors of the attack on that area of Boston. A stuck up business man named Kerry had taken control of the small group of survivors and it was just like a dictatorship. Kerry had weapons, food, and shelter. The Tipton had been attacked when a hoard of zombies, lead by Big Daddy (Land of the Dead), and they attacked the slightly protected city. When news that Pittsburg and Fiddler's Green was destroyed, everyone went underground to escape the zombie hoards, which grew larger and larger every day. Zack and Cody had been wearing the same clothes for three months and hadn't had a shower in just as much time. Their hair was long and tangled, clothes tattered, everyone smelled, and everyone held memories that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. The group had holed up in the laundry room of the Tipton and had plenty of food. Kerry would always have the most since he was the 'leader' and that he was the most important. The twins had trained themselves and didn't flinch at the sight of blood. The two of them were able to kill just as well as the adults…better actually since they were smaller and faster. Zack always had his bat with him as well as a large cleaver which would remain in a small manmade holster from leather and it would hang at his side. Cody used a large 2x4 that he had found. Both boys were ready to defend themselves at a moments notice but even they knew when to back off or retreat. Kerry didn't back off when action ensued, he would flee, demanding for them to protect him. Kerry would freak out whenever he didn't have his .45 with him. 

Arwin was almost like their new mother since he was the one who always would try to cheer them up with his wacky expressions. Although they were proper killing machines, they were still kids. Arwin was the only real person that they had to look up to now that their mom was dead. She had been taken by the zombies two years ago during the initial attack. Both twins made sure that that zombie paid. Arwin was also one of the reasons that they were still alive. Arwin had killed a zombie that had them cornered in their suite with a hammer from his tool box. Everyone but Kerry and his two friends thought that Arwin was the real leader since he was the smartest even though he was one of the clumsiest. Arwin cared for everyone in the room except for Kerry and his pals.

The situation was dire and every couple days a zombie or two might find where they were hiding and try to get them. However, none of the intruders could stand up to the numbers and determination to survive that was instilled into everyone in the building. Every now and then, the group had to go out to find food and those were always the most dangerous situations. The zombies who were either rogue or didn't follow Big Daddy would often time wander through the streets, looking for food that wasn't there. Although Kerry's pals often had fun while killing the zombies during those food runs, the twins saw no humor in killing and only did it when it was necessary. Arwin would lead the food runs and would do everything he could to make sure enough was taken to help them. Zack and Cody think back to how it all happened.

(Two years ago)

Zack and Cody had been sleeping in that morning since it was Saturday, October 1st and it was just another morning. Suddenly, their mother comes in and slams the door to their bedroom shut. Both twins, still groggy, ask their mom what was going on. 

"Just stay quiet and don't move." Whispers their mom. They suddenly hear it. Banging on the front door of the suite. Both twins pull their blankets up to their faces and barely breath. Suddenly, a loud crash is heard as the front door is broken open and falls to the ground. They hear moaning and what sounded like feet scuffing the floor. They hear banging suddenly on their own bedroom door and no one makes a sound. The moaning grows as more voices join the at first few voices. Carry opens the window which leads to the fire escape and tells them to go down it. They listen to her and suddenly see the door smash open and there are a flood of half mutilated people who try to enter the room. As the boys get onto the fire escape, they see a certain zombie reach out and tackle their mother. They watch in horror as she screams in pain as the zombie bites into her neck. She screams at them to run and both just react off of instinct. 

Both rush down the fire escape until it ends at the 12th floor. The twins opened a window and heard the zombies in the other room. Both twins rip a thick frame from the window sill and open the door. A zombie lunges at Zack and he smashes its skull in. Blood sprays on his face and he tries to wipe it away. Cody grabs Zack's hand and they both run through the room, which only had about seven zombies in it. They rush into the elevator and send it down to the basement. The door opens and the twins are met with three pistols to their face.

"WHOA, WATCH IT! It's just kids." Both twins see Arwin, London, and Maddie in the room as well. One of the men with a gun, who would be Kerry, keeps his gun pointed at the twins.

"We should send them back up so the zombies go away." Arwin walks over and grabs Kerry by the collar of his shirt.

"There is no way you are sending them back up there unless you want to go with them." Kerry points the gun at Arwin and Maddie grabs both of them by the shoulder.

"We can't fight like this. We need to stick together and work as a team." Kerry slowly puts the gun down and both men just stare at each other.

(The present)

Both boys look at their canned meal and just grab their plastic spoon to start eating it. Since then, Arwin was kicked off as leader, nearly killed, and became the new mother for the twins. The twins would later find the zombie that bit their mother and they would crush its skull with Zack's bat and Cody's 2x4. Despite the vengeance, both twins still heard their mother's screams in pain. Zack finishes his rations, grabs his bat, and goes out to check the barricades. Cody just there and looks at his food. He didn't feel like eating but he knew that he needed to. The only thing of value that was in the destroyed hotel was the radio. They were keeping tabs on the movements of the zombies. When it was discovered that the zombies were finally being kept under control with the development of the Dead Reckoning killing vehicle, they thought that they were all saved. For a while, it was safe to walk outside. Soon, killing zombies was a sport that the richer and more powerful would enjoy. However, when the zombies started to think, everyone was pulled back underground and it was back to the old lifestyle of surviving. Pittsburg was destroyed seven months ago and the zombies were fighting back against the heavy abuse they were suffering from the living. Once the living had created some permanent barricades, killing and torturing zombies became a pastime for many. Both twins knew that the zombies would fight back, they just didn't know that they would fight back this hard.

(please review)


	2. Dark Pasts

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing

Zack inspects the barricade and finds that it is secured enough but it will need to become reinforced tomorrow since the occasional zombie would try to bash in but they would dispose of him by going out with the other entrance and kill him before others could find out that they were there. Zack walks over to the boarded windows and checks them as well. The only defenses that they had other than the barricades and boarded windows were the guns that Kerry and his pals had brought when they arrived and the melee weapons that all carried with them. The back was secured by a high chain link fence. Thankfully, the zombies would always just pass it since none of the survivors would go out into that general direction unless a zombie was at the front. Zack missed sitting outside instead of the dusty ruined lobby floor of the Zack remembered the extreme dangers that they had all barely survived those two years ago during the initial attack.

(Back during the first attack…)

Zack and Cody hear the arguing in the other room as Arwin and Kerry try to come up with a decision on what to do. They could hear the zombies bashing on the door to the stairs which led to the laundry room. Arwin wanted to try and escape but Kerry demanded that they clear out the hotel of all of the zombies. Arwin could do nothing but agree as he arms himself with a lead pipe. The group had locked the lobby doors and went through the hotel, killing zombies one by one. It took them three days to kill them all and secure the area but it was done. When the initial danger of the zombies passed little over a year later, they left the hotel for the first time not for food since that terrible day. However, when Dead Reckoning was created and zombies were no longer a huge threat unless you were alone, the zombies almost became the victims from constant attack and torture from the living. However, all of that ended when seven months ago the zombies were united by an evolving zombie named Big Daddy. His name had become almost like that of a legend amongst the living since he was the reason why Fiddler's Green, the greatest city of the living, was destroyed. Zack and Cody had actually seen Big Daddy when he entered the reviving Boston, a Steyr Aug assault rifle on his back. Big Daddy was too much for the police and the survivalists who had armed up during the peace. Big Daddy walked through the city with little to no effort and soon the city was taken once more by the undead.

(Back in the present)

Zack looks out through one of the many watch holes and sees a few stragglers out in the streets, moaning and slowly moving through the streets. Zack had grown accustomed to seeing missing limbs and loose flesh. He wasn't just mentally tough; he had grown very physically tough. All of the baby fat that used to cover his body was gone and was replaced with lean muscles. Cody grew more lean muscle on his frame as well and both of them would cut their long hair with hunting knives till it was only a few inches long. Zack cut his hair as he looked out of the hole. It wasn't pretty but it did the job since he couldn't let hair get into his eyes. There was only one other kid in the group and he was just as tough as the others. His name was Mike. He was about 17 but looked more like a 15 year old. He had always kept his brown hair short and would carry around a large meat cleaver and framing hammer. He was also the only one with a gun other than Kerry and his two pals. Mike had a powerful Desert Eagle that belonged to his father, who was killed in the initial attack. Mike had also found an M16 assault rifle when he was with his sister and they had come upon a group of soldiers who had been killed. Mike took a rifle and the remaining ammo and he had trained himself to use it. He taught the twins as well and the three of them became a very dangerous force at young ages. The three of them were almost suicidal since they had almost no fear since they lost nearly everyone they cared about, everyone in Mike's case.

Mike's entire family except his sister was killed in the initial attack. He and his sister escaped from the small town of Sellersville, PA and were brought to an army base in Philadelphia. When the base was overrun, Mike and his sister ran and hid through the country side all the way to Barrington, Rhode Island. Mike and his sister reached their grandparents house but found that they were already dead. When they were searching the house, Mike heard his sister scream and saw her get eaten alive by his own grandparents. Mike could do nothing but kill his own grandparents and wait in the house till he ran out of ammo or until the epidemic ended. A few months later, Mike was found in his house by a survivor's search party, nearly completely catatonic. The front yard to the house was completely littered with bodies of the undead. Mike had fought off zombies and seen his entire family killed. Mike would finally come out of his near catatonic state a few months after his discovery and would go to Boston to try and start a new life. The twins didn't see Mike until two months after the second attack on Boston when on a food search. They saw Mike in the grocery store, collecting canned foods and water. Both twins seemed to think that he knew what he was doing and thought that he should come along. Kerry thought Mike would be a waste of space since Mike, weighing in at only 140 pounds and 5'6, Mike seemed like a weak little boy. However, when Kerry was jumped from behind, Mike eliminated the threat without even using a gun. Kerry finally decided to let Mike join and Mike became the unofficial 'expert' of what was going on and what to do in such situations. At first, he said that they needed to get out of the city but it was finally agreed that there were too many zombies and it would be safer to stay put. Soon, other survivors would pop up here and there. The other nine survivors were a teenage couple, two brothers, an elderly couple who aged about 67 and 69, and three single people (two boys one girl). The elderly couple, Mark and Gloria, were like the grandparents that Zack and Cody never knew. They loved the twins deeply and treated them like their own. Mike had found them cowering in the cellar of their house and brought them with him back to the hotel.

Zack had finished cutting his hair when Mike walked up.

"Anything out there, Zack?"

"Just a few stragglers. I think that we're gonna need to reinforce the door some more in the morning." Mike nodded and checked it out. Mike finally sat down and started to sharpen his cleaver. Zack puts his bat on his shoulder and sits next to Mike.

"What should we do, man?" Zack asked Mike this question almost every night. Mike would always respond with the same answer.

"Dunno. Survive." Zack lets his head fall back against the rock he was leaning against and closes his eyes. It had been so long since Zack wore PJ's. He had been wearing the same clothes for close to three months since his old ones were almost completely shredded. He was wearing tan khaki pants and army green t shirt which hung on his frame quite loosely. Mike wore army camouflage pants and a navy t-shirt. In the winter, both would wear sweatshirts but it was summer and burning up in Boston. Zack finally removed his shirt to cool off and laid back against the cool rock that had become his resting stone the last couple of months. Cody would join him soon with Mike and they'd talk themselves to sleep. It had just been another day.

Just surviving.

(Please review)


	3. A New Leader

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing

Cody wakes up to see that Zack was still asleep but Mike was nowhere to be seen. Cody knew that Mike always would always sleep late at night and wake up extremely early in the morning. The twins knew that he had become accustomed to sleeping for only a few hours at a time. Cody slowly sits up and rubs his muscles to ease the tension. Cody knew where Mike was. Cody walks into the elevator and takes it all the way to the roof. Cody walks out to see Mike sitting on top of a large crate of food and watching the sun rise. Mike always did this and no one understood why. He would just sit on the same box and watch the sun rise for however long it lasted. Cody saw that Mike was cleaning the M16 while watching the sun this morning. There was no sound other than Mike occasionally shifting his position or removing another part of the rifle to clean. Mike looked out to the sun with eyes that showed exhaustion with dark circles under them but his movements showed otherwise. When the sun was finally above the horizon, Mike put the rifle back together, clambered down from the box and slung the rifle strap over his shoulder. He looks at Cody and lets off a slight smile.

"You're up early."

"Thought I might give you some company." Mike looks over the destroyed city and lets out a deep breath and mumbles something that Cody can't understand.

"What was that?"

"Something from an old movie I saw once. It was just like this. It was called Dawn of the Dead. My dad showed it too me and I thought it was so cool. Little did I know something like that could happen. I remember a famous line. It was 'when there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.' Makes you wonder if that is really true." Cody just nods as Mike walks past him. They take the elevator down to find out what will need to be done today.

The twins join the meeting that is held every morning and they discuss what to do. The twins would have to add to the barricade and then a food and water run would happen right after that. When the barricade was put fixed, everyone on the food squad armed up. The squad consisted of Zack, Cody, Mike, Arwin, and Kerry's pal Tom. The group leaves through the back entrance and search the area to make sure no one saw them leave the area. Mike takes point and checks the corner. Tom follows close behind as Mike runs across the street and then checks the next corner. There was a wanderer in the street. Mike rushes up behind it and the sharp cleaver pierces its skull and it falls to the ground silently. Mike pulls out a rag from his pocket and wipes some blood from his face and puts the rag back in the pocket. Tom and the others follow as soon as Mike gives the ok. Zack suddenly sees one come out of a dark alley. Zack quickly pulls out a hunting knife and hurls it forward. The knife impales the zombie's skull and it falls to the ground with a thud. The group rush towards the old grocery store and quickly enter it and disappear off the streets. They kept the doors locked with keys found in the store so that no zombies could get in. They see that this store is really getting low and will need to head out and search for a new food source as well. Tom saw this and decided to make a decision.

"Alright, this source has been used up. We need to find a new source. Zack, Cody, and Mike will go out and find a new place." Arwin interjects.

"You can't send them out alone, I'll go with them."

"No, I need you to help carry the food. They'll do fine." Arwin just nods and grabs what he can. Mike and the twins exit through the back door and start to move through the back alleys. Stragglers were found here and there and disposed of with relative ease. Mike and the twins run across streets as they go block by block and finally discover a large food market about 15 blocks from the original place. The three of them try to open the door but it is locked. Mike goes round back and finds that the back door is locked as well. Mike has the twins search for any stragglers and it is clear. Mike smashes a window and crawls inside. He finds the keys and the store is jam-packed with food and water. The milk was all soiled and that wasn't a shocker. The twins find boards and board up the window. They are about to walk out when they hear something fall to the floor. Everyone spins around and sees a man in worn out army camouflage and with an assault rifle in his hands.

"If you're living, say something." Mike had his rifle pointed at the soldier as well.

"Don't worry, we're alive." Says Zack. The soldier slowly puts his rifle down and sits down on the floor.

"I thought I was dead for sure when I saw you enter. I thought that the zombies had learned how to use rifles and other such things."

"Don't worry, it's alright. Who are you?"

"Private James. Who gave this kid a rifle."

"Trust me," says Zack, "This kid probably knows more about that rifle than you do."

"Who's he?"

"He is a survivor of the first infection that happened two years ago. This is Mike Voortman." The private's eyes seemed to grow wide.

"I heard about you, kid. You're the one who traveled all the way from Pennsylvania to Rhode Island, right." Mike just nods. The private stands up and actually shakes the kid's hand.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was sent here a few weeks ago and my entire group was killed on the way in."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"A large group of those things are coming back. Big Daddy is at the front. We tried to take him out but he just shot the driver and sent us into a ditch. I managed to get the hummer out and make my way out here till it broke down. I've been moving from place to place ever since. What have you been doing, you're just kids?"

"We've been at the Tipton. It has been our HQ since the initial infection. You can come if you want. However, you need to be very quiet since everything is done with careful precision. By the way, how long have you been in the army."

"Six months," Zack looks at Cody and Mike with a certain look that said 'that's it'.

"Only six months. You weren't even in the army when the zombies started to join together," James nods.

"I was stationed at Fiddler's Green and was sent out just days before the zombies broke through and took over the Green. I thought that I was the only one alive in the city."

"Come with us, we need someone who knows what is going on in the world to help us out." The four of them leave the store and sneak back to the Tipton.

When they enter the building, everyone leaps to their feet when they see Private James walk in. Mike introduces him and soon James is swarmed with questions.

"I only know one thing, and that is that Boston is going to be cleaned out and become the new Fiddler's Green." Everyone cheered but are quickly shushed by Kerry, who has just walked in and seen James.

"Just who in the hell are you?" James immediately puts a stern face on and looks at Kerry in the face.

"Sergeant Williams. And who are you?"

"Kerry Underwood, and I lead this group. You do what I tell you, alright."

"And I say you can go to hell." Suddenly, both men pull out pistols and point it at the other. Maddie leaps in between them.

"We can't fight like this," Kerry suddenly backhands Maddie but Zack leaps forward and grabs Kerry's hand with the pistol. Kerry's two buddies try to intervene but Cody and Mike get in the way and rip their rifles from their hands. Tom pulls out a knife and tries to stab Cody but his hand is met by Mike's cleaver and Tom suddenly sees the cleaver impaled his palm. Tom screams and falls to the ground as Mike yanks the cleaver out. Kerry turns and suddenly is pistol-whipped right in the face by Mike and he falls to the ground. James and the twins stand over Kerry, whose nose was bleeding quite badly.

"Time for a change in authority, Kerry."

(Please review)


	4. Some Major Changes

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing

Kerry sat in the corner of the kitchen with a bloody face while watching Zack and Cody tie up Tom and his other friend. Kerry spits blood in their direction but just gets pistol whipped by Mike for his efforts. Kerry slumps to his side, unconscious. Mike puts the Desert Eagle back in the shoulder holster and walks off with Cody. Zack locks the door and walks off. Zack joins his brother and Mike in the lobby of the hotel. Gloria, the elderly woman, starts to check them for injuries. The only one with injuries was Zack, who had some glass wedged in his arm. Gloria picks out the glass and rubs some alcohol on it to help it heal.

"Thanks, Gloria."

"No problem, Zack. Please make sure that you kids don't get too hurt. I can only help so much."

"Don't worry, we'll be ok." Zack gives her a hug and walks off to get some food with the others. Zack saw James sitting at the table where Kerry would sit and Cody was sitting next to him. Mike sat in a corner of the room and was cleaning the clever of blood. After lunch, everyone knew that nothing should be done for the rest of the day. Zack decides to just sleep for the rest of the day and heads to his stone out in the lobby when he sees Mike sitting on one of the old couches that sat in the middle of the lobby and his head was hung low on his chest. The Desert Eagle was in his left hand, which was sitting on his lap, and he had a picture in his other hand. Zack sits next to him and sees a small drop of water hit the barrel of the Desert Eagle. Zack looks up to see that Mike was crying. Zack looks down at the picture and it was of a girl about only 8 years old, Mike, a man, and a woman. Zack assumed that this was his family. Mike's eyes were red from the tears and his eyes still had those near permanent black circles around them from lack of needed sleep. Zack just puts a hand around Mike's shoulder and Mike just continues to cry and then slowly tries to get to his feet but falls back down onto his butt.

"Mike, you need to get some sleep. Some REAL sleep. You can't keep working off of these two or three hour deals. You need a good ten to twelve hours from the look of it. Mike looks at Zack with those exhausted eyes.

"I can't, Zack. All I hear are the screams. It's like it's trying to haunt me at every vulnerable point it can. Every time I fall asleep…I hear my sister's cry for help and my mother's begs for mercy as those things would bite into her body with those fang like teeth." Zack pats Mike on the shoulder and Mike suddenly lets out a deep sob, "It's my fault they died. I could do nothing to protect them."

"It's not your fault, Mike. There was nothing you could do about it. Cody and I lost our mother during the same event."

"Yes, but you still have someone. I have no one left."

"You have us, Mike. Don't worry about a thing man." Mike just looks Zack with his tear filled eyes and slowly nods. Mike slowly gets to his feet and pats Zack on the head and manages to form a smile.

"You kids and your lingo these days." Mike walks off into the elevator and Zack sees that it was taken all the way to the roof. Cody walks up next to Zack and sees that the picture was still on the couch. So they take the picture and follow Mike up the elevator. When they get up there, they see Mike looking down at something below. Zack and Cody walk over and suddenly hear something. It sounded like a large orchestra of moans. They look down and see the streets are suddenly flooded with zombies. The zombies had luckily not found out that they were there but there was no way to get food while they were out there. Zack looks and sees that Mike had a powerful look on his face. It was one of a merging of hatred and lament. Zack knew how Mike felt. He had a deep hating of these zombies, but he couldn't help but feel bad for them since each zombie was another victim. Mike slowly backs up and then just sits down on the cold cement.

"What should we do, Mike?"

"We need to make sure that everyone is quiet and pray that James was right when he said that the army was coming in to cleanse the city. But if worst comes to worst, we will have to escape. Zack, get everyone up to the 23rd floor so that we don't have to worry about the zombies hearing us. Get James up here since I need to talk to him. Also, get the radio and start trying to hear the airwaves." Zack rushes back down and starts to do everything that Mike has asked him to do. James is up at the top in no less than five minutes. Mike shows the situation to James and starts to ask him some questions. James describes that he heard over the radio in the vehicle he was driving before it crashed was that the vigilantes and the rest of the military that we have will be coming to Boston in about 10 days from now. Mike tells him that they need to be able to live without being heard so that they can wait till the military walks in and helps them clear out the city to start a new civilization.

(Not much but there will be much more. Please review)


	5. Overrun

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing

Several days had passed and everyone was slowly starting to be driven to madness. The only ones still maintaining their composure were the twins, Arwin, Mike, James, and the elderly couple. The moaning could be heard, even from the 23rd floor. The zombies didn't seem to notice them since they had moved up and there was no reason to suspect that they were there. Entire days would pass with sleep, talk, television, listening for help, and masturbation. However, the days still seemed to go on forever. Zack and Cody would watch old DVD's and videos of all kinds. They were so bored that Zack found himself watching an instructional video for an Acura RSX-S. Despite the hellish conditions, Zack still would look at Maddie like he did all of his life. He would look at her in her baggy jeans, loose t-shirt, and jean jacket. Her blond hair would hang over her shoulders and many times Zack would find himself locked in a room and pleasuring himself to her image over and over. Ever since the second infection, he had no time to 'release' himself and now that there was absolutely nothing to do, he seemed to be doing nothing but that. Cody was probably doing the same thing but to whatever images he was thinking of. Mike never left the roof. He would only come down to check the radio and for his share of the water. Zack would go up to the roof every now and then and just see Mike staring out to the city, looking for help of any kind.

More days passed and Zack found himself staring at Maddie much more often and was starting to chafe from his constant 'releases'. James was always at the radio. But the atmosphere wasn't always horrible and depressing. A large stereo system was found in one of the rooms and a large number of CD's were found as well. Zack couldn't find anything he liked since it all seemed to be the names of people he had never heard before. Zack suddenly saw Mike emerge from the rooftops and finds a certain CD. Zack identifies the artists as the 'Celtic Women'. Zack had never heard of them and sees Mike put the CD in and push play. Suddenly, a strange melody starts to play and Zack looks at the CD cover and identifies the song as 'The Voice' (very good song). Zack suddenly finds himself and all of the others just sitting and listening to the woman's voice sing sweetly to the Irish melody. Zack knew that Mike was German-Irish and it seemed to fit his personality quite well since Zack never could really see Mike listening to any other type of music for some reason. Zack looks over to see Mike with his eyes closed, taking in the melodies and the vocals of the song. Zack suddenly found himself quite relaxed as he slowly let his muscles stop being tense and slowly sitting back against a plushy couch. No one spoke until the vocalist let out one final note and the song stopped. Mike slowly walks out and heads back to the roof as the next song starts to play. Zack and a few others continue to listen and then they slowly fall asleep. It would be the last time any of them felt comfort like that for a long time.

The next day, a loud BANG was suddenly heard as a door was bashed down. Zack wakes up and heads to the stairwell. He looks down to see Kerry and his two buddies firing away at something further below. Zack suddenly heard moaning coming from below and he feared the worst. Zack quickly wakes everyone up, but not before locking the door to the stair well. As everyone gets to the elevator to take them to the roof, they hear Kerry banging on the door. He screams for help as the moaning grows louder. Suddenly, Kerry is seen kicking the door down and rushing towards the elevator when it came back down to get the second group. Zack leaps out and smashes the bat in his hands right into Kerry's nose. Blood rushes out as Kerry falls to the ground, swearing. Zack grabs Kerry's pistol and runs back into the elevator with the next load of people. Kerry still rushes to get to the elevator but can't find it because of the deep pain he was in. Zack hears screams from stairwell and identifies them as Kerry's two buddies. Right before the elevator closes, zombies are seen walking into the 23rd floor. The elevator zooms upward and finally the doors open to reveal the roof. The survivors fall out and suddenly hear someone below them. Zack moves back towards the elevator and it was Kerry, climbing the ladder that leads to the roof. Zack yells in anger since Kerry was leading the zombies' right to them. Zack decided that he had no other choice. Zack sends the elevator back down to the lobby. Zack hears as Kerry is hit by the elevator and the zombies moaning as they fall down the large hole all the way back to the first floor. Zack knew that they were safe since no stairs lead to the roof. For the next couple hours, Mike slowly climbs the ladder down and sees the tons of zombies just continuing to fall over into the elevator shaft and plummeting to their deaths. However, it almost seemed unreal, if there were as many zombies as he thought there were, then the bodies would stack up higher and higher until the fall wasn't enough to kill the zombies and they could get to the ladder and make their way to the roof.

Mike could do nothing but climb back up to the roof and inform the others of the situation. Zack lets out a deep breath and sits down on the cold cement. They had forgotten the radio on the floor below. They knew that they needed to get it since it was the most valuable piece of equipment they had. It would need to be retrieved tomorrow morning.

(Once again, very little but there is still much more. Please review)


	6. Gaining the Radio and Losing a Friend

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing

Everyone wakes up to the burning sun. Zack, Cody, and Mike grab their equipment and prepare to retrieve the radio. James grabs his hunting knife and assault rifle as well. The four of them leap onto one of the many fire escapes and descend it until they reach the window that was only a few rooms away from the radio. Mike enters and secures the room. The twins and James enter and peek out into the hallway. All of the zombies were too distracted with the elevator to notice them. Zack shuffles over to the other room and grabs the radio. Suddenly, a large woman emerges from the shadows and tackles him. Zack falls and drops the radio. Zack pulls out his knife and rams it into the woman's skull. She groans loudly and falls to the side. Suddenly, this loud moan causes the other zombies to realize that they were there.

"Shit," exclaims Mike and he pulls out his assault rifle. Heads fly apart as he connects with their skulls, "GET OUT OF HERE!" James pulls out his assault rifle as well and starts to fire but he soon runs out since he was quite a bad shot. Mike leads the zombies away from the window, giving the others the chance to escape.

"But Mike…"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" The twins look at their friend with one last look and rush out of the window. Mike's rifle runs out and he throws it to the ground and pulls out his father's desert eagle and fires away. Mike soon runs out of ammo for the eagle as well and pulls out his cleaver and a 2x4 on the ground. Heads rip open and smash apart as he swings and is able to soon form a barricade made from zombie bodies. Mike tries to reload his assault rife but the barricade is easily toppled over. Mike rearms himself and throws his cleaver right into a zombies forehead. He arms himself with a 2x4 and a bat with nails in it. He was lucky that he was locked in the 'armory' which was crammed with blunt objects meant for killing. Mike kicks a few zombies away before smashing the nail bat right into their temples and ripping parts of their skulls out. Mike smashes a few skulls open with the 2x4 but it is ripped away from his by a few zombie hands. Mike swings the bat with both hand and continues to kill zombies after zombie with the nails and blunt force. Soon, the bat is ripped away as well. Mike quickly runs over to his secret chest and pulls out his most sacred melee weapon. A katana he found in an antique store. The sword cuts down the few zombies that entered the room and he continues to hold the zombies off at the doorway. Blood sprays out in huge spurts as heads are cut in half and cut off at the neck. Mike raises the katana over his head and cuts a zombie in half from the top of the skull all the way through the middle. Mike suddenly sees the doorframe start to give and the doorway becomes even bigger as chunks of plaster are ripped from the wall and form a large hole. Mike chops away the hands but the hole gets larger and larger. Mike grabs his father's desert eagle and cuts a hole in another wall. Mike kicks his way through and meets another crowd of zombies blocking him from the elevator. Mike cuts his way through zombie after zombie but it isn't enough. Mike feels the katana ripped from his hands and suddenly feels teeth sink into his shoulder. Mike screams and pries the mouth off of his shoulder with his hunting knife. Mike leaps forward and grabs the ladder in the elevator shaft and slides down it slowly. He knew that he was infected and couldn't go back to the roof. Soon, he is in the basement. He stumbles across the cement floor and falls. He slides his body against a wall so he was in a sitting position and looks as he hears zombies follow him down the ladder. He looks at the wound made in his navy t-shirt as blood flows out and runs down his side to soak his camouflage khaki pants and soaks into them. Mike feels the warm blood start to puddle on the ground. Mike slowly manages to reload his desert eagle and hold it up with his good arm. He waited until he saw the first zombie and fired. The head blasts apart like a watermelon would after being smashed with a sledgehammer. Mike waits for the next one to show up.

"Come get me you sons of bitches."

(Back on the roof)

Zack and Cody arrive with the radio but they almost smash it against the ground in anger. They describe what happened to the others and tears are almost immediately shed. Zack suddenly feels someone embrace him. It was Maddie. She was crying as well and they all just sat down and try to take in the moment. Suddenly, the radio screeches to life and a voice is heard.

"This is Lt. Major Pike, does anyone come in?" James rushes over to the radio.

"This is private first class James. We are numbers of 15 and are hiding in the Tipton Hotel."

"We'll get you out of there soon. We need to find Big Daddy and eliminate him. Pike out." The radio goes quiet and everyone looks out to the burning sun with hate. They had been numbers of 16 only a few minutes ago. Suddenly, James turns around to the twins.

"Aren't you gonna get ready?"

"For what?"

"We're gonna get Mike back. Even if he's dead, we're gonna get him back."

(Please review)


	7. Life or Death

Zack and Cody sit at the long table in the room that had once been where their mother would sing

(I know I have been gone for a while. I took a small hiatus for school. But now school is out and I plan to finish this fic.)

The group consisting of Zack, Cody, and James left the roof around noon the next day and decided that they should start on the 23rd floor and work their way down since they didn't know where he was or what his condition would be. If he was infected…they didn't even want to think about what they would need to do. They go to the 23rd floor and quickly start to clear out the floor. However, they find no trace of Mike or his body. The twins immediately come to the conclusion that Mike had to of gone all the way to the basement to escape. The group goes down the stairs, which had some zombies here and there but they were all easily dispatched. When the group finally gets to the lobby, they rush across it and slam the heavy metal door shut and lock it with the lock and deadbolt. The group goes further down into the basement and hear moaning. They quickly pull out their weapons but when they turn a corner, they see Mike, with one arm, wrestling with a zombie. Zack grabs his bat and crushes the zombie's head with it. Mike slowly collapses to the ground, panting in pain. It was then that they knew why Mike was using one arm to fight off the zombie. He had cut off his infected arm and bandaged it up with dressings and tourniquets.

"What the hell did you do that for?" asks Cody.

"To stop the infection, if the infected area is removed before the rest of the body is infected, I believe that you can either survive or slow down the process. I'm sure that I would be a zombie if I didn't remove it when I did." Mike grabs his Desert Eagle with his one remaining hand and the twins call the elevator down so they can be brought back to the roof. Mike looks at them in confusion.

"Why didn't you just take the elevator down here from the roof?"

"We had no idea you would be down here and didn't want to get cornered if zombies waited at the door." Mike nods when he hears this and James picks Mike's small body up and they are all silent on the way up to the roof. When the doors open, everyone screams when they see the pale, dehydrated, and injured Mike being carried out of the elevator. Maddie rushes over and checks on him. Maddie had become the medical technician of the group since she knew a lot about health from high school. She checks the arm and says that Mike dressed it perfectly and there was no way that the infection could get into the rest of his body with the tourniquets wrapped so tightly around his stump of an arm and the dressing prevented further bleeding. They quickly get him food and water. Mike was incredibly weak from the non stop fighting against the zombies all night and lack of sleep. Maddie checks his forehead and finds no fever, which was one of the first symptoms of infection and finds him clear to come into the group. They lay him in the shade, to protect him from the sun, and he sleeps.

Zack and Cody find Arwin working on the damaged radio. He had been working on it since they brought it back. Arwin plays with the dial and starts to get some signal. Cody and Zack pat him on the back.

"Great job, Arwin." He smiles back and then fixes his glasses and works on the radio some more. Mr. Moseby emerges from the group and asks Arwin if there was any news.

"Working on it, Mr. Moseby." Suddenly, a message blares out from the radio.

"_Private James, Private James…are you there?_" James quickly rushes over to the radio.

"Right here, sir."

"_What is your position?_"

"Roof of the Tipton Hotel."

"_Hold tight soldier, we sent a helicopter to pick you up._" Everyone cheers but the cheering suddenly stops when they see Kerry emerge from the fire escape on the side of the building, pistol drawn and pointed at them.

"WE'RE STAYING HERE!" screams Kerry. Arwin grabs the screwdriver that he was using and tucks it into his sleeve. Kerry heads over to the radio.

"No need to send a helicopter, sir."

"NO!" shouts everyone and they all charge him. Kerry points his pistol at the group and they all stop. Suddenly a shot is fired. They all look around and see it was Mike, aiming with his one arm and he had missed Kerry by inches. Kerry laughs and points it at Mike. Kerry fires and a bullet strikes Mike in the chest. Arwin leaps on Kerry and shoves the screwdriver into Kerry's throat. Kerry drops his pistol and spews up blood as Arwin hurls Kerry from the rooftop to plummet 23 stories to his death. Everyone rushes to Mike's aid as blood spurts from his chest. Mike's pale face turns even paler and he looks at them with near lifeless eyes.

"I feel nothing." Maddie quickly covers the wound, not before removing the bullet with some tweezers. In 20 minutes, the helicopter arrives and they all quickly get on it. A paramedic looks to Mike and his injury and the group is flown to an air base about 40 minutes out of the city. Mike is quickly wheeled into the ER and put into surgery.

The survivors wait outside of the ER tent to wait for an update. After 4 hours, the lead surgeon emerges from the tent, removing bloody gloves.

"How is he, doc?" asks the twins.

"He suffered terrible internal bleeding, he flat lined twice, and blood started to flow into his lungs. It is nothing short of a miracle that he survived." Everyone cheers.

"Well what can you do about his arm?"

"We have developed some great technology for amputees. A robotic arm will be placed in his body and he should be good as new." Everyone cheers again.

(Two days later)

Mike emerges from the medical tent without a shirt and a metal arm where his old one used to be. Everyone looks at it in awe as the doctor comes out to explain what it can do.

"It's brand new technology. We needed to find a way to keep people being able to fight after losing limbs to the hoards. He is one of quite a few to now have this. It is very durable and very strong but it is still better to have a normal arm." Everyone finally lets out a sigh of relief as Mike is given another shirt to wear and everyone decides to catch up on some much needed sleep. Strange to think that romance would blossom out of a zombie attack.

(Please review)


	8. A New Journey

(This story has been difficult to find out where to take it so I took the last few months to come up with ideas and I have finally decided how it will end. I plan to end this fic sometime before Christmas.)

Zack awoke in the middle of the night and saw the sleeping Cody next to him. He was lying on the hard concrete next to his bed. He had trouble going right back to a bed and just felt better staying on the ground. He slowly gets out of the tent and into the stuffy summer Massachusetts air. He wore just a set of army green khaki shorts the army gave him and some military boots. He walks around and sits down, looking at the sky as the bright moonlight shines over the small valley. He sees Maddie sitting on a solitary rock about 50 feet away and walks over. She jumps when he touches her shoulder but she calms down when she sees him. She looks at Zack, taking in the differences. Ever since the zombie attack, she had never taken appearance into affect but then saw just how different he was since she last saw him. He was taller, leaner, and more mature. Not to mention the messy hair look suited him.

"Couldn't sleep?" asks Maddie. Zack shakes his head, "Me neither. It's near impossible to sleep nowadays, even here." She pulls Zack close to her and embraces him. She just needed someone to hug. She wasn't brave the like men were since she just didn't have the strength or mindset to kill other human beings. Mike always tried to tell her that they were no longer human but she still couldn't do it. Her heart hurt every day since she heard of all of the deaths in the city. When Mike had told them they needed to get out of the city she understood why…lower populations, fewer zombies. It seemed pretty simple but she was too terrified of the thought of being eaten to leave the hotel. It was then that they heard something and Zack quickly pulled out a pistol which was given to him by James. They see it was just Mike, walking through the woods. Zack puts the gun away and lets out a deep breath of relief.

Mike walks through the woods, his head killing him. The nights were always the worst. Images flashed before his eyes…the blood, the death, the faces…the screaming faces. They haunted him at every possible point. He knew he was sick in the head but he just didn't know what to do. _WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME MIKE!_ Mike falls to his knees, clutching his head as piercing white pain seared through his skull. He had to get out of there, out of the pain. He sees the cliff to the plain below and starts to walk towards it. He is about to take the final step to end it all when suddenly someone grabs his shoulder and throws him to the ground. It was Zack.

"What are you doing!?" Mike looks Zack and suddenly the voices seemed to disappear.

"I-I don't know," Zack slowly gets off and Mike slowly sits up. Maddie had a look of terror on her face. Mike closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, "Actually…I know what I'm doing now." He gets up and walks to his tent, his robotic arm making small noises with every motion. He walks back out with a full jumpsuit on, an M4 in his hand and stuff clips into the pockets. Zack rushes up.

"What do you plan to do? You aren't really going to…"

"My time is done, Zack. The only thing that has kept me from actually killing myself is my urge to kill as many of those fucking things as possible."

"You just tried to kill yourself. You're not right Mike. We can help you!"

"Now we're even."

"What the fuck does that mean! You need mental help right now."

"No. No one can help me anymore. I tried but I can't adapt to the new rules. I'm gonna stick to what I do best," he puts his Desert Eagle into a holster around his shoulder and slips his cleaver into his leather sheath around his belt, "killing."

"I won't let you or I'll…"

"You'll what? Stop me? If I wanted to, I could have left you guys shortly after meeting you. I needed a place to stay."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes I do, kid. You don't know what it's like."

"Yes I do! I saw my mother killed before my very eyes!"

"You still have your friends and brother. I have no one. My old life died with my sister." Mike starts to walk into the woods but Zack grabs his shoulder. Mike grabs Zack with his robotic arm and slams him into the trunk of a tree.

"Mike please stop!" Maddie screams as Zack struggles for breath against the metallic fingers wrapped around his trachea. Mike looked at Zack with his now lifeless eyes.

"Leave me alone." Mike says in a voice that sounded those zombies sound like the life of the party. He releases Zack and starts to walk into the forest towards the city. Zack rubbed his throat and coughed from the attack.

"That selfish bastard." Zack whispers under his breath. He suddenly sees Maddie rush towards the area Mike had left.

"Mike! Come back!" She stops and falls to the ground, crying. Zack walks over to her and wraps his arms around her, "We can't just let him leave," Maddie sobs into Zack's chest. Zack never thought that Mike was actually like that.

"If he wants to get his ass killed, let him." Says Zack. Maddie continues to sob.

"You can't mean that. He did so much for us." Zack suddenly has a flashback and remembered what Mike meant.

_Zack and Cody were sent out to find food at night, alone since fewer people made less of a scene. They go through a few alleys to reach the food supply area when suddenly a few zombies appear out of nowhere and knock the two of them down. The two of them struggle to get the zombies off and the teeth are about to bite them when suddenly two silenced shots ring through the cold air and the heads of the zombies explode. The bodies fall off and they see Mike with a silenced pistol in his hand. _

So that's what he meant by 'we're even'. A life for a life. It didn't seem like much then but now he understood just how much Mike did for them. Zack barely knew Mike but he was like a guardian angel to them. A few shots ring through the night air. Zack could tell it was Mike firing the shots. Zack knew where Mike would be heading. It was going to be a long trip. Barrington, Rhode Island. He wanted to go home. Zack groaned but knew that he would feel guilty the rest of his life and would never know the answer to that question, "Did he live?" Zack gets to his feet and heads to the tent where Cody was to let him know what happened. He knew Cody would want to follow as well. The two silently start to leave the camp when suddenly they see Maddie running toward them, an assault rifle in her hand and her hair tied back.

"I'm coming with you. I won't let him die after saving us so many times."

"I can't let you do that Maddie," says Zack.

"Zack, you do not own me and you sure as fuck aren't telling me what to do. Let's go."

(Please review)


	9. A New Friend

(This story has been difficult to find out where to take it so I took the last few months to come up with ideas and I have finally decided how it will end. I plan to end this fic sometime before Christmas.)

Zack, Cody, and Maddie walked through the woods with the sounds of the night surrounding them. Through the last few years, the twins had learned how to track since learning the zombies' movements was vital to survival in Boston. They were sticking on Mike's trail and he sure didn't try to hide it. Zombie bodies littered the paths in the woods. Mike was moving fast and the group had difficulty keeping up since his trail was getting less fresh every hour. The group marched into the morning but by that time, they were completely exhausted. The group stopped for a rest in the bright morning sun. They knew that they should collect food and water. They traveled to a nearby spring and filled their canteens and flasks. They collected some berries and found an unaffected deer. After skinning it and eating their fill, they suddenly heard a noise. They all point their rifles in the direction of the sound and they see a middle aged man with an old hunting rifle in his hands. He had an array of hunting knives in a pouch slung over his shoulder and a belt of rounds slung over his other shoulder, forming an X across his chest. He wore jungle camouflage and a camouflage hat. His skin was rough and one of his eyes was white with a scar over it.

"Who are you!" shouts the man.

"We aren't infected," explains Maddie and the man slowly lowers his rifle.

"Alright. But what are a group of kids like you doin' out in a place like this? I thought I was the only one left."

"No, there are a group of soldiers who have formed a base about 15 miles from here to the west," says Cody. The man laughs.

"They don't know what they're doin'. They hope to 'cleanse' the city…right?" Cody nods and the man laughs once more, "That's just what the old general said. He ended up dead three days after that statement," the man slings his rifle over his shoulder and walks over to them, the sound of the sleeve of bullets bouncing against his chest, "The name's Burt." Zack and Cody shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you," says Cody, "You didn't happen to see another kid our age around here have you?"

"I saw a kid a few hours ago from this spot. He was taking out those zombies like a true professional."

"What direction did he go?"

"He headed in that direction," Burt points to the area he was speaking of, "I would stay out of his way if I were you. This kid knew what he was doing."

"We know. He was part of our party before leaving the base last night. We think he is headed back to his home, Barrington."

"Did you say Barrington?"

"Yea, what about it?"

"I thought he looked familiar. I was from there. It was one of the three starting points of the infection. He's Michael Voortman, the lone survivor of the Voortman household."

"How do you know him? We didn't even know his last name."

"I was a resident of Barrington but left shortly before the infection hit. I checked on my hometown to check and see if anyone survived. He was the only name on the list."

"We heard that," says Zack, "Last night he had some sort of mental breakdown and left in the middle of the night."

"PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Or Shellshock for short. His mind has either snapped or is about to snap. He has probably fallen back into the zombie killing mode that he was in during the initial infection. It sure looked like he was."

"That's what we think," says Cody, "We need to go and find him."

"I must warn you two, I was in Barrington a few months ago. The town is lost. It has been lost for quite a while. All you will find is death."

"Just like the rest of the planet." Burt smiles.

"Good luck you three." Suddenly there are more rustles and they all point their guns in that direction. A hoard of zombies emerge from the woods and they start to follow them. Burt screams for them to head down the hill as he opens fire. He shows great marksmanship as the rounds pierce through the rotting skulls like a hot knife through warm butter. The hoard doesn't thin out and the group is forced to retreat down. The group runs down the hill and tries to stick together. The zombies, lacking full motor skills, fall down the hill in the attempt to follow. One body falls down the hill and smashes into Maddie and knocks her off her feet. Zack hears her scream and turns. He aims and blows the zombie's head off with one shot from his M4. He grabs her arm and helps her back to her feet. When they reach the bottom of the hill, Burt reloads his rifle and starts to pick off each zombie one by one. The group retreats once more when the hoard gets closer. It was then that the group realized that they ran into a cliff wall. They were trapped. They all aim and fire with shaky hands. The zombies fall but their numbers seemed endless.

"Where are they all coming from!?" shouts Zack.

"Probably a fraction of Big Daddy's group to destroy the base!" shouts Burt. The zombies slowly get closer and the twins' guns run out of ammo. They fumble to reload but drop the clips. The zombies get closer and closer when suddenly an explosion blows a large whole in the zombie lines. Another explosion blows the rest of the zombies into little pieces. They all look up and see Mike on the top of the cliff. Mike drops the pins to the two grenades he had just thrown and disappears over the cliff. A few stragglers were still around but Burt easily picked them off. The group heads back up the hill, hiding from the remaining hoard of zombies and manage to find their way to the top of the cliff an hour later. The group sits down and take a few minutes to rest.

"That kid saved our ass back there." Said Burt, "I gotta repay him."

"That was him. We gotta bring him back to his senses." Burt looks at them and nods.

"I'm coming with you."

"Why?"

"Not much else to do. This could give me something to do in this death trap of a world. I'm sick of hiding in the shadows and want to actually do something that could affect a few lives."

"Alright. Let's continue. You can lead us to Barrington." Burt nods.

"This way."

(Please review)


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